Lessons in Comprehension: Explicit Instruction in the Reading Workshop

Plumbing his file drawers for 64 of the most effective comprehension minilessons from his distinguished teaching career, Serafini has created a teaching treasure trove that contains nearly a year's worth of comprehension instruction plus an extensive list of children's literature that he has successfully woven into his own reading workshop. Lessons in Comprehension introduces and reinforces meaning-making concepts through eight broad thematic strands that scaffold understanding and responsibility for novice readers:

• Inviting Children into the World of Reading and Literature
• Exploring the Structures and Components of Literature
• Navigating Text
• Promoting Invested Literature Discussions
• Developing Comprehension Practices
• Investigating Informational Texts
• Extending Response to Literature
• Examining Critical Perspectives.

Within each strand, eight lessons take students deep into key comprehension strategies like visualization, journaling, and previewing texts. Tried, proven, and grounded in the latest scientific-based research, each substantial lesson offers a complete framework to take you and your students from theory through guided practice and beyond. And, unique among books on the reading workshop, each lesson also features Serafini's own classroom-honed language-the perfect model to adapt for explicit instruction in any reading classroom. These lessons fit seamlessly together and provide the instructional backbone for learners of every level and ability.

"Effective teachers teach," writes Serafini, and in effective reading workshops explicit instruction provides an important link between the written word and an emerging reader's ability to both interact with texts and understand them. Read Lessons in Comprehension, trust Serafini, and help your students learn the strategies they need to comprehend a variety of texts.

Frank Serafini is the author of the Heinemann title Classroom Reading Assessment. He is a leading voice on the reading workshop, whether the topic is implementation, planning, assessment, or comprehension. His passion for the workshop has helped tens of thousands of teachers find more effective and professionally satisfying teaching through Heinemann professional books such as Around the Reading Workshop in 180 Days, Lessons in Comprehension, and The Reading Workshop and his newest book released in late 2015, Reading Workshop 2.0. Frank is a Professor of Literacy Education at Arizona State University and he brings his ideas, experiences, and deep understanding of reading instruction to teachers around the country as a member of Heinemann Professional Development Services.

P. David Pearson is coauthor of the Heinemann titles Comprehension Going Forward and What Every Teacher Should Need Know About Reading Comprehension Instruction.

He has served President of the National Reading Conference (NRC), Director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, and on the boards of directors for the International Reading Association, NRC, and Association of American Colleges of Teacher Education. He is the author of dozens of influential books and peer-reviewed articles, the founding editor of the Handbook of Reading Research, as well as a former editor of Reading Research Quarterly and the Review of Research in Education.

His many awards include the 1989 Oscar Causey Award (NRC) for contributions to reading research, the 1990 William S. Gray Citation of Merit (IRA) for contributions to reading research and practice, the 2005 Albert J. Harris Award (IRA) for the year’s best reading-disability publication, and the 2003 Alan Purves Award (NCTE) for a publication impacting practice. In 2006 the University of honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, and in 2010 AERA gave him Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award.